Card stacking apparatus



Nov. 30, 1965 D. E. BROZO 3,220,725

CARD STAGKING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 31, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1.

DUNALD E. BROZ0.

A TTORNEK Nov. 30, 1965 D. E. BROZO 3,220,725

CARD STACKING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 31, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 2.

INVENTOR.

DONALD E. BROZ0.

M WW

ATTORNEX Nov. 30, 1965 D. E. BROZO 3,220,725

CARD STACKING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 31, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig. 3.

n, 52 so J 2 J 4 g mm 28 J J Q z 00mm E. 52%? M KW ATTORNEX Nov. 30,1965 D. E. BROZO 3,220,725

CARD STACKING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 31, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig. 4.

Fig. 6

INVENTOR. 00mm 5. BHOZO. BY

United States Patent 3,229,725 CARD STACKGNG APPARATUS Donald E. Brozn,Livonia, Mich, assignor to Burroughs Corporation, Detroit, Mich, acorporation of Michigan Filed Dec. 31, 1962, Ser. No. 243,507 2 Claims.(Cl. 27171) This invention relates generally to sheet transportapparatus and particularly to a sheet stacking device.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved sheet stackingdevice.

Another object of the invention is to provide an impnoved sheet stackingbin into which sheets are successively fed on edge in an uprightattitude and in which the trailing edges thereof are moved out of theway of the next preceding sheets eificiently and economically.

More specifically, it is an object to provide a turnstile type of unitin the entrance to a sheet stacking bin to flick the trailing ends ofsuccessively entering checks out of the path of sheet travel.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the followingdetail description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawingsin which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sheet transporting apparatus embodyingfeatures of my invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is another vertical sectional view, taken along the line 44 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view, taken along the line 55 of FIG. 4, and

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view, taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings, a portion of a document handling card feederand reader mechanism 10 is shown in FIG. 1 in which a stack 12 ofpunched cards is supported edgewise in a feed hopper 14 and successivelypresented to a card feeder 16 from which the cards are fed singly ondemand past a reading station 18 to a turn around guide roller 26 fromwhich they are stacked in a stacking hopper 22 in the same order inwhich they were fed. The above assemblies are mounted on a stationarybase plate or casting having rigidly fixed thereto and elevated slightlythereabove a stationary hopper floor plate 28 and a pair of vibratablefloor plates 29 and 30 which are relatively movable with respect to thestationary floor plate. Although shown as extending in horizontal planesfor purposes of drawing convenience, the several plates are disposed ingradually rearwardly rising planes inclined at about 21 /2 degrees tothe horizontal from the front to the rear of the structure to facilitateloading and unloading of cards therein and for card jogging andalignment purposes.

The feed hopper 14 includes the stationary and movable floor plates 28and 29; a left end fall formed by an upstanding, rearwardly extendingstripper or guide plate 32; a laterally extending edge guide 33 that isslidably mounted on and releasably secured by clamps 34 in elongatedslots 35 in the movable floor plate 29 for adjusting the size of thefeed hopper to different length cards for different card runs, and arearwardly extending pusher plate 36 overhanging the hopper edge guideand floor plates. The pusher plate 36 is pivotally mounted at 39 forinsertion into and extraction from the hopper and is supported from anupstanding bracket 40, which is secured to a bored pilot or bearingblock 42. Block 42 is coaxially slidably received on a laterallyextending cylindrical guide tube 44 that is mounted on the base casting.The pusher plate 36 is urged leftwardly toward the stripper plate 32Patented Nov. 3%, 1955 by a vertically spaced pair of horizontallyextending cables 45, 46 connected respectively between the block 42 anda lug 47 on bracket 40 and to coiled spring tensioning device 48 and 49which are mounted from the base plate and are tensioned as the pusherplate 36 is moved manually rightwardly to receive a stack of cards.

The card feeder 16, which will be described in greater detail later,includes a constantly driven, rubber surfaced drurn 50. The outersurface of the drum 50 has integrally formed thereon a plurality ofribbed projections 51 which encircle the drum and are spaced along thedrum axis. The ridges 51 are separated by grooves 51' which may be ofthe same width as the ridges. The drum 50 is positioned relative to theforwardmost card so that the ridges 51 contact the card over adjacentrows of the perforations 52' therein, as later described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a feed control device for the card stack 12is provided in the form of a plurality of fingers 52 which are afiixedto and in spaced relation along a vertical shaft 53. The shaft 53 isconnected to an operating solenoid 54 by a lever 55 and is oscillatedbetween card hold and release positions. The fingers 52 are arrangedsuch that when they are moved to card release positions they arereceived respectively in the grooves 51' inwardly of the periphery ofthe drum, as illustrated in FIG. 3. The solenoid 54 is energized toeffect pivoting of the fingers 52 to their ineffective positions withinthe drum grooves 51' whereby to release the forwardrnost card forfeeding by the drum 50.

Referring particularly to FIG. 3, the drum 50 is journalled on a fixedtubular shaft 55 and fixed onto the shaft, within the drum, there is avalve body 56 having a passage 57 in communication with the tubularshaft 55 and a pair of passages 58 in communication with the drumperforations 52' through an intermediate chamber 59. To the lower end ofthe shaft 55, a suitable fitting connects one end of a pipe or tube 6ilto be connected at its other end to a vacuum source. Within the valvebody 56, a vertical stem 61 carries, in this instance, a pair ofvertically spaced valve members 62 which are biased to closed positionand control communication between the vacuum source and the drumperforations 52'. A solenoid 63, mounted on top of the valve body 56 isprovided to open the valve members 62 and is to be energized at aboutthe same time that the finger operating solenoid 54 is energized. Whenthis occurs, the forwardrnost card of the stack 12 is freed by thefingers 52 and is then drawn and held to the periphery of the drum 50,by the differential pressure created by the vacuum source, and the drumfeeds the card edgewise between a pair of upstanding guide plates 64 and65 into the bight of a card pull-out accelerating drive roller assembly66 and a photooptical card detector 67. The detector 67 detects thepresence of the card and de-energizes the solenoids 54 and 65. From thepull-out drive roller assembly 66, the fed card is transported on edgepast the information read device 18 to a cotton belt 68 and pressurerollers 69 and then around the turnaround guide roller 20 from which thecard is directed into the card stacker 22.

Mounted adjacent the feed drum 50, FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, there is a drivenshaft 70 parallel with the drum axis and carrying a pair of rollers 71having their peripheries slightly spaced from the drum periphery. Asindicated on FIG. 2, the rollers '71 are rotated in the same directionas the drum 50, or counterclockwise, the purpose being to prevent thefeeding by the drum of more than one card at a time. This is effected bythe spacing of the rollers 71 from a drum periphery a distance slightlygreater than the thickness of a card, and the direction of rotation ofthe rollers tending to thrust the card in a counter feeding direction.

The stacker 22 is in the form of a bin and comprises the vibratablefloor plate 30 which is resiliently mounted from the base plate in thesame plane as, but located rearwardly and above the movable feed hopperfloor plate 29, and is vibrated in a reciprocating rectilinear path byan electromagnetic jogger (not shown). In addition to the vibratingfloor plate 30, the stacker 22 includes a stationary side wall 72, anopposite movable side wall, or back-up member 73, a front wall 74 and arear wall 75. The wall 74 is formed in part by a movably adjustablemember 77 which retains a rubber bumper 78 at the junction with the sideWall 72. The stacker rear wall 76 is an angle-shaped edge guide similarto the hopper edge guide 33 and is likewise adjustably mounted on thestacker fioor plate 30 to accommodate different length stacks of cardsfor diflerent card runs. The back-up member 73, corresponding to thepusher plate 36 in the feed hopper, is similarly mounted on a rearwardlylocated laterally extending guide tube and is resiliently tensionedagainst the stacked cards.

On the other side of wall 72 from the bin there is a continuouslyrotating roller 80 which rotates in a clockwise direction, facing FIGS.1 and 2. When the lead edge of a card strikes the rubber bumper 78, thecard rebounds, and it is the function of the roller 80 to return thecard so that the leading edge is against the bumper for desired stackingof the cards. The roller 80 is supported by a mounting 81 which isadjustably mounted on a rod 82, supported by end brackets 83 on the binside wall 72. Adjustment of the position of the feed back roller 80 ismade when adjusting the edge guide for a run of different length cards.

The bin front Wall 74 terminates in spaced relation to the bin side wall72, providing a card inlet 84 and positioned in said inlet, I provide aconstantly driven, vertically mounted sheet striker member such as anylon pinion or paddle wheel 85. The function of the paddle wheel 85 isto entrain the trailing edge of an incoming card between the teeth ofthe wheel and deflect the card toward the card stacker. Positioned onthe other side of the bin wall 72 from the paddle wheel 85, one or moreair jets 86 are provided and arranged to direct an air blast or blastsagainst an incoming card to effect the entraining of the card trailingedge in the blades of the paddle wheel 85 after the card has completelyentered the bin. The paddle wheel 85 is mounted to one side of the pathof sheet travel into the bin on a vertical shaft 87 with the teeth ofthe paddle wheel extending partially into the bin and is driven in acounterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2. A continuation88 of the guide rail 64 extends to the periphery of the paddle wheel 85to guide the leading edge of an incoming card past the wheel. Thedistance from the bumper 78 to the paddle wheel inner or root diameter,as established by the full depth of the paddle blades, is made slightlygreater than the lengths of the cards of a given run of cards. Aspreviously mentioned, the leading edge of an incoming card is guidedpast the paddle wheel and the card then is urged rightwardly by the airblast from jet 86. When the trailing edge of the card clears the end ofthe guide continuation 83, the trailing edge of the card is blown by theair blast into mesh with the paddles of the rotating paddle wheel whichthen flicks this end of the card against the stack in bin 22. Since thedistance from the bumper 78 to the inner or root diameter of the paddlewheel, taken on a line through the center of the wheel, is only slightlygreater than the lengths of the cards, it will be seen that cards on thestack side of the wheel are retained against movement back to the pathof card entry.

While I have shown and described the card handling apparatus inconsiderable detail, it will be understood that many changes andvariations may be made therein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention.

What is claimed is: 4

1. In a sheet handling apparatus having means for feeding sheets singlyon edge into one end of a storage bin means for stacking said sheetsagainst the opposite end of the bin comprising a vertical surface on awall of said bin adjacent said receiving end for receiving the leadingedges of said sheets,

a continuously rotating paddle wheel having its axis parallel to saidsurface and having paddles extending into said bin on the side oppositesaid surface for engaging the trailing edges of said sheets after saidsheets have completely entered said bin and for pivoting said sheets onsaid surface by their trailing edges toward said opposite end of thebin, and

pneumatic means for deflecting the trailing edges of said sheets intothe paddles of said paddle wheel.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said surface is a rubber bumperset into a wall of the bin and wherein said receiving end of said binhas a wall at an obtuse angle to said wall containing said surface forguiding said sheets into said bin and against said surface.

FOREIGN PATENTS 6/1945 France. 7/1954 Great Britain.

ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner. MORRIS TEMIN, Examiner,

1. IN A SHEET HANDLING APPARATUS HAVING MEANS FOR FEEDING SHEETS SINGLYON EDGE INTO ONE END OF A STORAGE BIN MEANS FOR STACKING SAID SHEETSAGAINST THE OPPOSITE END OF THE BIN COMPRISING A VERTICAL SURFACE ON AWALL OF SAID BIN ADJACENT SAID RECEIVING END FOR RECEIVING THE LEADINGEDGES OF SAID SHEETS, A CONTINUOUSLY ROTATING PADDLE WHEEL HAVING ITSAXIS PARALLEL TO SAID SURFACE AND HAVING PADDLES EXTENDING INTO SAID BINON THE SIDE OPPOSITE SAID SURFACE FOR ENGAG-